


There For You  [SFW version]

by Maggies_Scribblings



Series: Fluff, follies and fireworks [Tumblr requests and prompts] [6]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrinette | Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Aged-Up Character(s), Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Identity Reveal, Ladrien | Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng as Ladybug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:48:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25096375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maggies_Scribblings/pseuds/Maggies_Scribblings
Summary: After eight years of terror, Hawkmoth has finally been defeated. Adrien goes AWOL, taking the revelation of the villain’s true identity as badly as would be expected. When Chat Noir tells Ladybug about a tough decision, there’s sharing, crying, hugging and comforting, soon leading to something much deeper.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: Fluff, follies and fireworks [Tumblr requests and prompts] [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1687726
Comments: 3
Kudos: 47





	There For You  [SFW version]

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Miraculous_Elcie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miraculous_Elcie/gifts).



> This is the **[SFW version]** of this fic. If you want the Explicit version, click on **«Previous Work»** above. 
> 
> Thanks to my Discord pals for the encouragement and for helping improve this story; in particular: [TOG84](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TOG84/pseuds/TOG84), [Missnoodles](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Missnoodles/pseuds/Missnoodles), [Katieykat513](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katieykat513/pseuds/Katieykat513), [MissEcchi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissEcchi/pseuds/MissEcchi) and [Bronte.](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bronte/pseuds/Bronte)

Eight years. Almost three-thousand days. Five-hundred Akumas, give or take. Lost nights, wasted days, missed classes and countless excuses.

Hawkmoth was defeated. Hopeless, cowering in fear, immobilised by LadyBee’s Venom. His reign of terror was finally over.

It took new heroes, new strategies and new miraculous combinations — it was the first time Tikki and Pollen were unified, and the combination was very effective — but they did it.

Taureau Gris, La Souricelle, Tygheera and Maialina Malva each used their abilities and special powers to help lure, attack and defeat their nemeses, following Ladybug and Chat Noir’s carefully laid out plan.

As the first rays of dawn filtered through the dusty windows of the old warehouse, LadyBee secured Mayura’s peacock brooch, and Steed Noir retrieved the butterfly pin.

The flashing light of detransformation blinded the heroes temporarily, only to give way to absolute shock. There, on the dirty floor, lay none other than Gabriel Agreste and his assistant Nathalie Sancoeur.

Outside, police sirens were approaching, as planned from the beginning. Team Miraculous thawed from their stupor and exchanged looks. _Right. The plan._

La Souricelle used her jump rope to tie Gabriel’s hands and feet to an iron pillar, LadyBee doing the same with Nathalie. Steed Noir seemed to be frozen in place, slowly twiddling the butterfly pin between his fingers, his eyes fixed on Gabriel Agreste’s face.

“Hey.” No reaction. She called him again, touching his shoulder. “Hey, Kitty… are you with us?”

Steed Noir looked up as if waking from a daydream, to find Ladybug— _no,_ _LadyBee_ ’s eyes searching his countenance, furrowing her brow in concern.

“I-I’m— Actually, I just remembered I have to be somewhere really soon. Can you wrap this up, guys?”

“Chat… it’s six in the morning,” she said, as she took the butterfly from his fingers, her hand lingering for a few moments. She took his hand in hers and led him to a quieter spot. “What is it, Kitty? What’s bugging you?”

“Milady… I will need to talk to you soon, but not now… and certainly not here. Plagg, Kaalki, divide.”

There was another flash as the kwami flew out of their miraculous, leaving Chat Noir in his usual form. LadyBee observed him as he absent-mindedly fished a sugar cube from his chest pocket and fed it to the tiny horse a before removing the stylish sunglasses.

“Are you alright, Chat?” she asked as he returned the miraculous.

“I— I hardly know,” he breathed, “I really need to go now. I’m sorry… I’ll text you on the communicator, okay?”

It was all she could do to nod and watch him as he vaulted up to an open window and disappeared from sight.

* * *

The next few days went by in a flurry. On the one hand, Ladybug had all the bureaucracy and liaising with the police and the media following Hawkmoth’s capture. On the other, it was the end of Marinette’s first term at University, exams and project deadlines looming closer every day. She was attending classes in the morning, meeting with the police and her teammates in the spare hours, and pulling all-nighters to work and study. She was almost glad she was single — it would be impossible to squeeze a boyfriend in her insane schedule.

After Gabriel’s arrest, Adrien vanished. Nino did get a couple of texts from a private number, saying he was okay and asking for a little privacy for a few weeks. Ladybug saw him at the indictment enquiry, but he only spoke to his lawyer, only greeting Ladybug with a small wave.

Marinette and their mutual friends tried calling, only to go straight to voicemail every time, and their group chat always showed him as offline. He was not reachable in any way. No wonder, since the press was having a field day with what they dubbed ‘The Agreste Scandal’.

After two weeks of worrying sick, one Friday evening she decided to do the only thing she could — check on him as Ladybug.

The trip to the Agreste mansion was fruitless, as there was police tape all around it and all lights were off. A peek through his bedroom window showed signs of the sloppy searches performed by the investigators, but otherwise, everything was just as she remembered it. Ladybug recalled the last time she was in there, back when she had to change the future to save the world.

Shaking her head to get rid of her thoughts, Ladybug decided to go to Le Grand Paris to see if Chloé had heard from Adrien, when a buzz from her yoyo made her stop mid-swing.

She landed on the next rooftop to check the incoming message from Chat Noir. He had been very elusive lately, not showing up for any of the usual patrols— not that there was much to patrol with Hawkmoth out of the picture. Now that she thought of it, she hadn’t seen him at all since that night. His text left her somewhat concerned.

> **[Chat Noir]** _Need to see you urgently. Please meet me in our usual spot tonight at 11._

No smile emoji, no wink, no joke. Very unusual indeed.

She looked at the time on the screen. With a couple of hours to spare, Ladybug decided to go home and study, deciding to try to reach out to Adrien some other time. What if he didn’t _want_ to be found?

* * *

“NO! I won’t let you!”

“What are you gonna do to stop me? Cataclysm me?”

“I could never do that to my favourite kitten! You know that!”

“I just can’t cope with everything any more, Plagg,” Adrien muttered, avoiding eye contact with his kwami. “What kind of incompetent superhero just misses the fact that his nemesis is under his own roof?”

“How _could_ you know?” Plagg flew up to face his chosen one. “The pompous fart lord was careful to push you away from him.”

Adrien let out a small snort, the tiny god’s attempts to amuse him finally making a dent on his bitter mood.

“He had a whole lair underneath the mansion, Plagg! And an evil attic he sent akumas from!”

“It was too well hidden, kid. Even the police couldn’t have found it without help from the grovelling evil hag.”

“Plagg!” he scolded, failing to hide a chuckle, “stop it!”

“Anyway, my point is that you can’t give up now. I-I’ll miss you…”

“I’ll miss you too, buddy, but my mind’s made up. Now let’s get you back to the miracle box. Claws out!”

* * *

Marinette could not concentrate on her work, her thoughts going back to Adrien and where he might be. Her photo collage was long gone, save for one remaining framed picture — their whole class on graduation day. She was in the middle row, Adrien standing right behind her, one arm on her shoulder and the other around Nino’s neck. Everyone looked tired from the final exams, but happy. Soon they would all go their separate ways, rarely seeing each other except for the odd birthday party.

“Where are you hiding?” she said to herself, gently touching the handsome face on the photo. How she had loved him! That boy had awakened feelings in her that she didn’t even know existed —hell, if she was honest with herself, he was still a constant presence in her dreams, even after dating other boys and telling herself she was over him. A love like that was hard to forget, even more so when his face and scantily clad body adorned every other outdoor in Paris.

Marinette reached under her bed to retrieve her secret stash — a binder with clippings of Adrien’s underwear and swimsuit ad campaigns, which she kept for when she needed some… _inspiration_. He’d certainly grown into a fine man. His body was toned but not overly muscular, his face more angular and his hair tousled in a just-got-out-of-bed way. Her favourite thing about him, though, were his eyes, gazing into the lens with that impossible green intensity. The timer on her phone sounded and she hurriedly returned the folder to its place.

It was time to go meet the _other_ boy who made her heart flutter.

* * *

The streets of Paris had been eerily calm since Hawkmoth’s capture. It seemed that even common criminals were relieved the terrorist menace was gone. Chat Noir savoured the wind in his hair and the thrill of vaulting above the rooftops for the last time. He anticipated having to walk down the stairs and back to the hotel as he landed on the top of the Eiffel tower — it would feel good after so many days bunked up in his hotel room, he lied to himself.

He sat on the ledge, looking out into the night. The streets and monuments were lit up for Christmas, making the view more breathtaking than usual. The prospects of an even lonelier holiday pervaded his thoughts when Ladybug arrived.

“Hello, Kitty!”

God, she still made his heart beat faster after all these years. No other girl could ever take her place — and he had certainly tried.

“Good evening, Ladybug,” he greeted, trying and failing to keep a professional tone of voice.

“We missed you at the enquiry,” she scolded as she sat beside him.

“Oh— I-I was close by. Just a shout away if you needed me.”

“O… kay?” Ladybug ignored the strange answer, obviously eager to hear him out. “So, what did you want to talk about?”

“Well… this isn’t easy… you know I’d follow you to the end of the world and back, and would never do anything to hurt you, right?”

Even though Chat Noir was looking out into the distance, he saw her nod from the corner of his eye.

“Okay. I want to tell you first of all that I don’t blame or resent you in any way for what happened. It had to be done. I only wish I had known earlier.”

“What do you mean, Chat? You’re scaring me.”

“I can’t be Chat Noir any more. I came here to give you the ring.”

Ladybug reached out to gently turn his head towards her, seeking his eyes while hers were filling with tears.

“What do you mean, give me the ring? The ring is yours. Nobody could ever replace you—”

“Thanks, LB… that means a lot to me,” he interrupted, placing his hand on top of hers. “You’ll understand soon. Plagg… claws in.”

“No— Chat—”

There was no turning back now.

“Please make him change his mind, Spots!” Plagg hovered between the two, more serious than either of them had ever seen him. “Please don’t let him quit.”

“Come on, Plagg, don’t make this harder than it already is…” Adrien sighed, scratching the kwami under his chin. “Goodbye, buddy.”

Adrien removed his ring before the tiny god could protest and handed it to a still speechless Ladybug.

“Here, Milady… please put it back in the box… or give it to someone else. I’m not worthy of it anymore.”

“No… Chat— I mean— Adrien— No way— Adrien?” Ladybug’s face went through an impossible sequence of expressions, from surprise, to realisation, to sorrow. “Oh, no… Adrien… your father…”

“I know, right?” he replied, once more averting his eyes. “Some sidekick you got, letting a supervillain act right under his nose for eight years…”

“NO— Ch-Adrien, stop that. You could _not_ have guessed that your father— oh no— _your own father!_ ” Ladybug pulled him into a hug. “And you’ve been going through this all alone!”

“It’s alright,” he lied, pulling away just enough to be able to look at her. “I’m used to being alone.”

“You didn’t have to! Why didn’t you reach out to our friends? Everyone’s worried sick about you!”

“I don’t know,” he shrugged. “Shame, embarrassment, pride… or a mix of the three? This is my burden to bear, I didn’t want to bother anyone else.”

“Oh, silly kitty… “

“Wait— _our_ friends?”

“No— I-I meant _your_ friends. I’ve asked them about you— actually I was looking for you earlier. You weren’t home.”

“No— no, I wasn’t. I’m staying at the hotel for a while.”

“Yeah, I was on my way to grill Chloé when I got your text.”

“Please don’t grill my oldest friend.”

“Okay, I won’t. This conversation is not over, though. I do _not_ accept your resignation.”

“But I—”

“I _won’t_ let you go! Your ring is yours forever, you hear? _I’m_ the boss here!”

“How can you trust me again after all this?”

“The same way I always did. With my life.” Ladybug held his shoulders in an encouraging gesture, as he had done so many times for her. “You and me against the world, remember?”

Adrien crashed into her arms again, finally shedding the tears he held back for two weeks. She pulled him closer, rubbing his back and petting his hair while he let it all out. He could feel the warmth of her body and the thumping of her heart against his chest, beating as fast as his.

As his sobbing subsided, Ladybug held his face in both her hands and wiped away his tears.

“I’ll _always_ be there for you. Don’t you know that?”

Unable to speak just yet, Adrien nodded and kissed the palm of each of her hands with a shaky sigh.

“Can you please hold me just a little longer?”

Ladybug held him tight and they fell into a comfortable silence, until a sudden gust of freezing wind made him shiver.

“Come on!” Letting go of him, she stood up and offered her hand. “Let’s get you back to your hotel. There’s something _I_ need to tell you about.”

* * *

After a short but chilling trip, Ladybug and Adrien landed on his hotel suite balcony. After a little fumbling, he opened the door and invited her in.

“Welcome to my temporary home I guess. Do you want something to drink? I need something hot.”

Ladybug scolded herself for considering a naughty play on words. _Bad, bad bug_ , she told herself. Instead, she replied, watching him as he went into the kitchenette.

“That’d be nice. Do-do you mind if I use your bathroom?”

“Sure, it’s that door over there,” Adrien pointed while looking for the kettle. “Is tea okay? I have coffee, too.”

“Any herbal tea would be wonderful. Thanks.”

As soon as she got to the bathroom, she locked the door behind her and called off her transformation. Tikki flew up to face her, ready for a freakout.

“Are you alright, Marinette?”

“I… think I am,” she replied as she fumbled in her purse for a macaron. “Right now I need to focus on Adrien. He’s been all alone through all of this, Tikki, can you imagine that?”

“It couldn’t have been easy for him… but he’s strong, he’ll bounce back. Especially if you help him.”

Marinette nodded, opening the purse for Tikki to hide.

“Are you sure you want to do this, Marinette?”

“No, I’m not, but I have to. It would be unfair of me not to tell him now.”

Tikki patted her face and nodded in approval before flying into her hiding place.

Somehow, the need to simply support her friend surpassed her awkwardness and insecurities about her secret identity. And if tonight led them to something beyond friendship, so be it.

Catching a glimpse of her puffy eyes and ruffled hair, Marinette quickly splashed cold water on her face and ran a hand through her loose hair. For good measure, she retouched her lip gloss. This man still had a powerful effect on her — if anything, knowing his identity only made her love him more. She wondered if he still felt anything for Ladybug or if it was too late for them, before taking a deep breath and opening the door.

* * *

Adrien was facing away from her, bent down to rummage the cupboards.

“Do you take sugar? I think I have cookies here somewhere…”

“No sugar, thank you,” she replied in a wobbly tone.

Adrien froze for a moment, then stood up straight, not turning around.

“Y-you’re not Ladybug right now, are you?”

“No, I’m not.” Marinette breathed a laugh as she came closer.

“Your voice,” he braced himself on the counter, head turned slightly towards her, yet still looking away. “It’s different, but somehow the same.”

“You _can_ turn around, you know.”

“Really?”

“Really, Kitty. What’s fair is fair.”

She took another step, ending up right behind him. When Adrien turned around, his jaw dropped.

“Marinette? Marinette!”

Once again he clung to her in a fierce hug.

“It’s you!” Adrien whispered into her hair.

“It’s me.” She pulled away slightly to look at him. “Your friendly everyday Ladybug.”

Adrien held her face in his hands with that fond smile that always made her knees falter and her pulse quicken, standing so close she could count his eyelashes. There was a tingle of electricity between them as he caressed her cheeks.

“Marinette, I—”

She never hated the whistle of a kettle more, as Adrien reluctantly let her go to turn around and switch it off.

“— I’ll get the tea ready. Make yourself at home.”

Her throat was suddenly very dry, so she could only manage a “Hmm-hmm,” as she sat on a high stool on the other side of the counter.

Adrien sat across from her and served the tea — jittery hands making him spill some of it — before both relished in the warm drinks.

Marinette opened her purse and fished out Chat Noir’s ring, handing it to Adrien.

“This is yours.” Noting some hesitation, she slid it into his right ring finger. “With this ring, I… trust you to be my Chat Noir, as long as I am the guardian. Will you take it?”

“I-I will,” his words came out with a sad chuckle and a sniffle. “As long as you let me.”

“Forever it is, then!”

Plagg flew out of the ring, looking like he was preparing to give Adrien a lecture. When he saw his holder and the guardian holding hands, he screamed.

“Finally! Took you two long enough! Tikki! Where is she?”

“I’m here, Plagg!” Tikki phased through the purse. “Hi, Adrien. I’m happy you reconsidered.”

“Of course he reconsidered, I’m irresistible! Come on, Sugarcube, we have a lot to catch up. And I’m hungry! I’ll bet they’re gonna have one of those mushy conversations now.”

The kwamis flew over to the other side of the kitchenette, phasing into the fridge, leaving the humans to exchange a meaningful look.

“Can you stay a little longer?” Adrien asked shyly when they finished drinking. “I _really_ don’t want to be alone tonight.”

“You’ll never feel lonely again if _I_ can help it… I promise!”

At the same time as Marinette got up and circled the counter to put her cup in the sink, Adrien stood and offered to take it.

“Thank you”, she smiled and nodded as she handed him the mug.

Typically, Marinette’s legendary clumsiness made an appearance, as the cup slipped from her fingers and crashed into pieces on the marble floor.

“Oh, no! I’m such a klutz,” she rambled nervously. “Sorry. It was such a nice set, too! I’ll clean—”

“No, no worries, I’ll pick it up—”

As both crouched at the same time to pick up the pieces, they bumped their foreheads.

“Ow! I’m sorry, I’m—”

“Are you okay?” Adrien had a concerned look as he took her hand to stop her from attempting to clean. “That was a hard knock!” With his other hand, he parted her fringe to check for any lumps.

“I-I’m fine. Are _you_ alright? I hope my thick skull didn’t hurt you!”

“I’ve had worse,” he quipped as he helped her up. “Leave this, please. Let’s just sit for a minute, okay?”

“Okay.”

* * *

The suite didn’t have a sitting room, so he led her by the hand to the chaise-longue in his sleeping area.

“Sit here. I’ll get some ice for your head.”

Marinette nodded and reclined back. She couldn’t feel a lump, but didn’t trust herself to act normally just now. Adrien quickly picked up the pieces of ceramic and came back with a towel and a bag of ice.

“I’m sorry about all this, I’m just so…”

“Madly clumsy, I know,” he chuckled. “You told me that the day we met.”

“I can’t believe you remember that.”

Adrien knelt down next to her and gently moved her hair away from her forehead to apply the ice pack, grinning in that cheeky Chat Noir manner.

“How could I forget the moment I fell in love with you?”

Marinette’s breath hitched as he said that. His hand lingered caressing her hair, every touch like a spark on her skin, his eyes seeming to search hers for a sign.

“Funny you should say that,” she admitted with a gentle smile. “That’s the same day I fell in love with you.”

“W-what do you mean?”

“I mean that day, after your first day of school, when you apologised for the gum and gave me your umbrella.”

“My first day of school? A-are you telling me the boy you liked… was me?”

Marinette nodded, certain that her voice would fail her if she tried to speak.

“But… you said you didn’t… you just liked fashion?…”

“I-I panicked. I was always so nervous around you. I always thought you’d say no.”

Adrien turned his head away from her. _Oh no, what have I done? Now he’s upset that I lied to him—_

 _“_ This is so…” he started to laugh. “So ridiculous! We’re a couple of idiots!”

“I know, right?” she giggled, relieved he wasn’t mad. “I always refused _Chat Noir_ because I liked _you_ …”

“… and I never pursued _you_ because I was in love with _Ladybug_.”

The laughter faded into silence. Marinette removed the ice pack from her head and gathered all her courage.

“A-are you seeing anyone?” She fiddled with the hem of her shirt, her voice just above a whisper.

“No,” Adrien chortled. “I dated a bit after Kagami moved to Japan, but…” He took her hands into his. “When you’re hopelessly in love with the most amazing, brave, smart, beautiful girl in the world everyone else just pales in comparison.”

“Oh.”

“Are _you_ seeing anyone?”

“No. Nope. Free as a bird.” She shook her head, emphasizing her point. “Young, single and ready to mingle.”

“Would you like to _mingle_ with me, Milady?”

“How forward of you, Kitty! You haven’t even kissed me yet.”

“ _That_ can certainly be arranged,” he quipped, moving closer. “May I?”

Marinette nodded, sitting up to close the distance between them. Their first kiss was tentative, his lips soft and sweet. When Adrien pulled away, she pulled him by his collar and kissed him back, this time parting her lips in eager invitation.

“You’re so beautiful, Marinette,” he praised between kisses. “I love you.”

Marinette’s eyes flew open when he said it.

“I-I love you too, Adrien. I’ve loved you for so long…”

He bent down to kiss her lips again. Pausing to look into her eyes, he took her hands in his.

“I always felt there was something more between you and me. Now I know why. We’re meant to be together.”

“Hmm-hmm…” she smiled. “Yin and yang.”

“Creation and destruction”, he smiled back, pulling her in for another passionate kiss.

_Fin_

**Author's Note:**

> **Prompt: _“I’ll always be there for you. Don’t you know that?”_ | Angst | Adrinette**
> 
> The new heroes: Taureau Gris (Gray Bull/Ivan), La Souricelle (Little Mouse/Mylène), Tygheera (Tiger/Juleka) and Maialina Malva (Mauve Piglet/Rose).
> 
> Constructive criticism is welcome and appreciated.  
> English is not my first language and I tend to use UK English. If you catch any inconsistencies please let me know.
> 
> [My Tumblr.](https://maggies-scribblings.tumblr.com)


End file.
